A SPIRIT PEELS A BANANA, AND EATS SOME OF IT, AND DIVIDES I desire to speak of a recent manifestation, which baffles my ability to understand, and proves that spirits by some chemical process are enabled to operate upon material substances and cause them to vanish. I only give one instance, and leave the reader to his own reflections and to adopt his own theory. I shall simply give the fact as it occurred. I have a little grand daughter, Julia Muth, in the spirit world. When in the form she was partially fond of bananas. On the occasion of the recent anniversary of her eighth birthday, the 13th of July, 1882, I went to Mrs. Green for a seance, taking with me a large banana. These slate-writing seances, as has been heretofore explained, take place in the full light. I sat, as usual, opposite to Mrs. Green, with the small stand between us. I placed the fruit on a slate, with a short letter of greeting, and put it under the covering of the stand, while Mrs. Green held another slate of her own. The spirits, after writing on Mrs. Green’s slate for about an hour, wrote as follows: “Grandpa, take your slate from under the stand,” which I immediately did, and on the slate was written, “I peeled the banana, and ate some of it, too; your little Julia Muth.” We removed the cloth covering from the stand and The Cincinnati Daily Enquirer is a leading as well as an extensively circulated paper, published at Cincinnati, Ohio, and, in October, 1881, Mrs. Green was visited by a reporter of that paper, who was present at two of her trumpet seances. Although probably not a believer, he turned out to be a fair minded man who would not allow his prejudices, if he had any, to interfere with an honest account of what he saw and witnessed. In three issues of that paper, to wit, October 16th, 18th and 21st, 1881, appeared his report of a visit to Mrs. Green, and two seances he attended. They are here inserted, in the order of the dates given. Issue of October 16th: “In a neatly furnished suit of rooms over No. 309 Longworth street lives Mrs. L. S. Green, a spiritualist medium. Upon her last evening a representative of the Enquirer called. He was cordially received by the lady’s husband, being tendered a seat in a parlor in which was a piano, a pretty set of furniture; while an old-fashioned kerosene lamp threw its brightest rays over the room from a mantel-piece. Seated in a rocking-chair was Mrs. Green, plainly dressed, of a modest and retiring disposition, and features that stamped her as a faithful and loving wife. The mission of the newspaper man was quickly explained. Her husband replied that as a rule mediums avoided reporters, as they were liable to distort and ridicule their statements. But where the thing is conducted honestly and openly, “In reply to a question, Mrs. Green said that she was about thirty-eight years old, and had been a clairvoyant since 1868, her first mediumistic inclinations having developed that year. Her history since that time as a spiritualist has been quite full of interest. Previous to her becoming a medium she was a member of the Christian Church, and was as great a skeptic as one could find. So, in fact, was her husband. While a member of the Indiana Legislature in 1867 he attended a seance, where he received a message from his dead mother. At a subsequent one, another spiritual letter came to him, telling him that his wife possessed the powers of a medium, and asking him to bring her to one of the circles. After some persuasion he finally gained her consent to go. She there saw her first spirits, that of an uncle of the medium of the assemblage, who had his head cut off by a train of cars. From that time her powers began to develop, showing themselves in messages that she wrote on paper or beheld in the air. Spirits as high as five hundred a day presented themselves to her view. Her continued increase as a medium so worked upon her that she lost her health, and she was compelled for the time being to abandon the business. About twelve months ago she resumed her writing—this time on slates. Messages Were written on the inside of folded slates, and often, after a seance, a fluid would be found on the outside of the slate, which, unless washed off then, could never be removed. This had been taken to chemist after chemist for analysis, and one and all had failed to make any thing out of it. “While the reporter and his friend were talking Mrs. Green called their attention to two spirits who were standing besides them, one a brother-in-law of the first-named, and the other a friend of the latter who died twelve years ago. Both were accurately described, much to the surprise and astonishment of the two skeptics. Mrs. Green, in explaining her power, said that she was entirely controlled by one spirit, and that when she first began to work it was shown by slaps on the hand, by shocks in her arms, etc. She did only as her influence compelled her to act, and while writing, etc., she knew not what she did, much to the surprise and astonishment of the two skeptics. Many startling results of seances were recited, such as the sounding of trumpets, the ringing of bells, singing, and the appearance of different spirits were detailed.” Insertion of October 18th: “Mrs. L. S. Green, the medium, gave a seance last “A breathing spell was taken when one of the party varied the programme with a selection upon the orgamina. The favorite old song, ‘John Brown,’ was given, and it pleased the spirits hugely, as a deep bass voice was heard to join in with an occasional blast “‘Good evening, gentlemen. We are glad to meet you. The spirit band of the medium authorize and request me to thank the representative of that great metropolitan journal, the Enquirer, for the terms employed in reference to their medium and her gifts in yesterday’s issue of that paper. This treatment, so rare, betokens a spirit of candor and fairness commensurate with this transcendently important subject. We extend you a cordial invitation to visit us whenever and as often as it suits your convenience, and we shall always endeavor to treat you with courtesy and respect. “‘Nettie.’ “The lines were very regular, the i’s and t’s are dotted, and the signature was especially plain, it being the name of one of Mrs. Green’s controls.” The third and last appeared in the issue of October 21st, and is as follows: “QUITE INTERESTING—A SEANCE HELD LAST EVENING—SKEPTICS AND BELIEVERS ASSEMBLE TOGETHER. “A very interesting seance was held last evening at the residence of Mrs. L. S. Green, 309 Longworth street. Seven persons were present, including two mediums. The spirits were unusually frisky, and the manifestations were particularly gratifying to the believers, and rather dumbfounding to the skeptics. The arrangements and room were the same as in the others previously described, except that there were more musicians present. Very excellent music was rendered by an orgamina, a violin, a guitar, and a music-box. The selections given were sweet enough to summon the most bashful friends of the medium from their spiritualistic retreat. The departed were less inclined to epistolary efforts, and slate-writing was not conducted with any favorable results. “During the evening one of the gentlemen sang a Swedish song, accompanying himself on the guitar. A female voice at one time, and a powerful bass later, were heard plainly in concert with him. The human singer alleged quite emphatically that his spiritual aids rendered the air in the same language he did. The guitar took numerous trips around the room, sometimes high in the air, again touching those present on the head and different parts of the body. A huge tin trumpet was blown most furiously, the blast sounding like the greatest effort of the bass-horn. Then it was pounded and thumped, creating a most awful din. This was explained as being the doings of a very powerfully materialized spirit. The statement “A little music-box was taken from the table and wafted through the room, playing its peculiarly sweet airs all the time as it sailed toward the ceiling and over those about the table. It could be heard in every corner, high and low, and if a medium or friend was carrying it, said person must have been exceedingly lively, climbing over chairs, a bed, etc., without making any noise. It was claimed that when the box ran down it was wound up by those who took it through the air. “Whenever songs were sung, or selections were played upon the instruments, soprano or bass voices joined in plain to all present. Members were delicately touched in the face and body. The tolling of a great bell was most cleverly imitated, and a little one was rung frequently. The spirits of loved ones were reported as standing at the sides of different members, some of whom were quickly recognized by the description given. Water was sprinkled on all, and the goblet filled with this fluid was passed around, touching some in the face, others on the body. No communications were received except very brief ones.” |